Bengal officials to skip Delhi meet - As Delhi remained silent on the issue, we consider that they have accepted the request

Chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and DGP Virendra were asked to be present in the capital in the wake of the attack on Nadda’s convoy on Thursday

Alapan Bandyopadhyay : File picture

TT   |   Calcutta   |   14.12.20  :  Bengal chief secretary and director-general of police will not attend the meeting on the state’s law and order in New Delhi on Monday for which the Union ministry of home affairs summoned the duo to Delhi, said a source at Nabanna.

Chief secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay and DGP Virendra were asked to be present in the capital on Monday in the wake of the attack on BJP national president J.P. Nadda’s convoy on Thursday. 

“We did not get any response from the Centre after the chief secretary’s letter in which he requested the MHA to dispense with the presence of two officials.… As Delhi remained silent on the issue, we consider that they have accepted the request,” said a senior state government official.

“The chief secretary has already sought exemption from the meeting. So, I think the Centre would not drag the issue further. If the issue is dragged further, the state would initiate appropriate measures, including legal recourse,” said another bureaucrat.

The state government did not get any response from the Union home ministry after it conveyed to New Delhi that three IPS officers — who were posted on central deputation  by the MHA — would not be released.

The Centre had asked the state to release the officers, who were posted in the nearby places where Nadda’s convoy was attacked, by December 15. 

The state sent a letter on Saturday expressing its inability to release the officers as they were doing well in Bengal.

“According to the service rules of IPS officers, in case of any disagreement on deputation of cadre officers, it is incumbent upon the state government concerned to give effect to the decision of the central government. But I cannot recall any instance where the provision was exercised. It has to be seen if the Centre would use this provision despite the state’s objection,” said a source.

Sources in the state government said it might move to court if the MHA went ahead with its decision to attach the officers.